A worn rotary air mail envelope with red and blue striped border and a pink Syria postage stamp featuring a portrait of a man. Handwritten text in Arabic is visible on the envelope.

Stamps of Our Youth (2026)

Duration: 90 min

Countries of production: Egypt - United Kingdom

Languages: Arabic - English

Filming locations: Egypt - Syria - Lebanon - Tunisia - Algeria, Oman - Saudi Arabia - Libya

Set between 2001 and 2003, the film follows an Egyptian youth who builds friendships through handwritten letters with pen pals from Syria, Lebanon, Tunisia, Algeria, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and Libya. Through their exchanges, a portrait emerges of a generation coming of age in the Middle East at the dawn of the digital era — a time of both intimacy and distance, curiosity and restraint.

Blending personal memory with cultural reflection, the film explores how communication and technology shaped youth identity in a rapidly changing region. It captures the innocence and vulnerability of adolescence while tracing how those early connections continue to echo through the complexities of our present lives.

Old brown envelope with Arabic handwriting, three postage stamps from Syria, and circular postal marks.
An airmail envelope from Libya with Arabic handwriting, postage stamps, and postal stamps, addressed to a recipient in Cairo, Egypt.
A white airmail envelope with red and blue border stripes, two red stamps featuring black cannon illustrations, handwritten Arabic address, and a blue
Envelope with red, white, and blue border, two postage stamps showing the interior of a mosque, handwritten Arabic address, and a postal cancellation mark.
A Libyan air mail envelope with colorful postage stamps featuring cartoon children, butterflies, and sunflowers.
A brown envelope with four identical postage stamps depicting a woman in a gray suit with a black hairdo, smiling, holding a child's hand, with the World Health Organization logo and Arabic text.